Charges j



U ITE STATE P T O C oimnnns EAMESfOF NnWro t n, Y., ASSIGNOR To THE cannon Icon GOMPANYfOF SAME PLACE, 1

paoo sss OF D EOXIDIZ'IN man one.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 318,605, dat'ed May 26, 1835. 'Applicnlion filed Februan- 2?, i895. (Nospccimcns) To (1% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. EAMES, a

citizen of the United States, residing at New "York city, in the State of New York, have-in- 5 vented a new and useful Improvementin Processes of Reducing Iron Ore in'the Manufacture of Iron and Steel; and I hereby declare the followidg to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same. I My present invention relates to the process of deoxidiziug the are in the manufacture of sponge and wrougl'lt-iron direct from the-ore, and the carburization of the metal of the sponge, where it is desired to produce a steely iron 5 therefrom.

coating the lumps of ore with a graphitic paste, and then subjecting the ore thus coated to a sustained dull-red heatin any suitable furnace nntil deoxldation, and, if desired, carburization, takes place.

The graphite preferably employcd'by me is of a character known in commerce as graphitie carbon, such as is found atCranston,

5 Rhode Island, and in other localities, is of an impure character, containing earthy matter and iron in considerable quantity, can be ob tained at comparatively low prices, and is known in trade as graphitic carbon, to distinguishit from plumbago of commerce.

- Heretofore in the manufacture of iron sponge, wrought'iron, and steely irons from the ore the carbon forpurposesof deoxidation and carburizationhas been employed either as charcoal or soft carbon, or in the form of plumba-go. The main objection to the use of charcoal or like carbonaceous matter is the bulk required, its constantly increasing scarcity in-manufactnrin'g districts, its

- 4,0 vancing price, and the cost of transportation.

The principal objections against the. use of plumbago in its pulverized state are its liability to drift in the furnace and cause irregular results, its loss in the fusible slag sometimes used asaprotcoting covering for the ore during treatment, and-where used in the form of slabs for furnace-linings, or in solid masses--such as crucibles--its inactive condition until cut by the molten metal or scoria.

' In carrying out my invention, and to overcome these several objections, {form a still To this end it consists, broadly stated, in

paste or mortar from pulverized graphite and an amzlhesive' carbonaceous bindersnch coal-tar, wood-tar, molasses, or like material-preferably using as much of the graphite and as little of the binder as is consistent with the formation of a paste or mass, which can be readily applied as an adhesive covering to the v ore. l f desired, a certain per cent. of pulverized fire-brick or,il:s equivalent may be added to the mixture, and by equivalent, as applied to the fire-brick addition, I mean, an

ingredient which will not vitrify and destroy the friable character of the covering under the influence of heat. The ore, in the form of lumps as it comes from the mine, or broken into smaller lumps, ifdesired, is then coveredv or coated with the graphitic paste or plastic mass, and this can be conveniently done by means of a rotating cylinder, a tank and-rakes, and. various other means, which will suggest themselves to the operator. The ore soprepared may bethen subjected in asuitable fur; nace to alow-rcd sustained heat, varying from 1,500 Fahrenheit to 2, 000 Fahrenheit, accord- 7 5 ing to the nature of the ore operated on, for from five (5) to seven (7) hours, more or less, until deoxidation has taken place, when an iron sponge will be obtained. The temperature of the furnace can then be raised suffi- 8O ciently high to cause the agglutination of the metal, and the mass be bailed, drawn, and subjected to the blooming apparatus when wrought-iron is desired, If, however, a steel y iron is'desi'red, thetcmpcrature of the furnace s 5 will be only slightly raised--say,. from 2,000 Fahrenheit to 2,500 Fahrenheit- -or sufficient- Iy'high to induce'the free metal contained in the sponge to absorb carbon, and this rein perature is maintained from three (3)00 six (6) hours longer, according to the degree of ear burization required, after which the tempera:

'ture is brought to the stage which will cause the metal to agglomerate, and the mass is balled and treated as here nbefore specified.

preference the process is conducted on a friable graphitic sole or hearth such as forms the subject-matter of cases Serial Nos 144,152, filed September 27, .1884, and .i.49,85l2, filed December 9, 1884, and with a covering of mo graphitic'lumps such as forms the subjectmatter of case Serial No. 149,684, filed. December 6, 1884; but I do not herein claim such and then subjecting them to a (lull-red sus: hearths andcoverings; neither do I limit my tained heat in a. suitable furnace, substantially invention to use therewith. f as and for the purposes specified.

Having thusset forth the nature of my in- Intestimony whereof I aifix my signature, 2 5 vention, what I claim, and desire t o secureby in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of Letters Patent, i's v February,'1885. The process herein described for the deo'xi- 1 T l H datio'n, or deoxidation and carburization, of I CHARLES 'f oreinthe manufacture ofiron sponge, wrought- Vitnesses: Y [0 iron, and steely iron wvhich consists in coat- -F. WV. BITTER, J15, I ing the lumps of ore with a graphitic paste, GUA.TAUB1-3Rscmsuiwn 

